Roll Call reports today, “Deep-pocketed corporate lobbying groups have joined together to defeat” the EFCA. Speaking before a business lobby group this morning, Vice President Cheney announced that Bush will veto the EFCA legislation. Watch it:

The current union organization system is tilted against America’s workers. Each year, over 20,000 U.S. workers are illegally fired, demoted, laid off, suspended without pay, or denied work by their employers as a result of union activity. Under the Bush administration, American workers have seen union levels — and their wages — steadily drop:

America is also a country that takes very seriously the right of men and women to work and to organize under the law. The American labor movement has a proud history and has long reflected a basic principle of our democracy: fair elections, as decided by secret ballots. This principle will be put to a test in Congress this year. It’s important for everyone in the debate to remember that secret ballots protect workers from intimidation and ensure the integrity of the process.

Beyond that, if workers do decide to form a union, they and their employers should be able to negotiate without having terms forced on them. Our Administration rejects any attempt to short-circuit the rights of workers. We will defend their right to vote yes or no by secret ballot and their right to fair bargaining. H.R. 800 violates these principles, and if it is sent to the President, he will veto the bill.